Esperanto is...

Esperanto is a language introduced in 1887 by Dr. L.L. Zamenhof after years of development. He proposed Esperanto as a second language that would allow people who speak different native languages to communicate, yet at the same time retain their own languages and cultural identities. Esperanto doesn't replace anyone's language but simply serves as a common second language. Esperanto can be learned in much less time than any other language. (Some say that it is four times easier). Esperanto is politically unbiased.

We'll send you more information about learning and using the International Language Esperanto, including the first lesson of our free introductory language course, if you fill out this brief information request form.

Although there aren't a lot of people who speak Esperanto in any one place, there are some almost everywhere. There are over a hundred periodicals regularly published in Esperanto. There are thousands of books in Esperanto, both translated and original works. There are millions of webpages.

There is an outstanding set of videos produced in Brazil that provide examples about what Esperanto is. The films are in Esperanto, but include English subtitles. The video at the top of this page is from that series.

Comments

I'd like to suggest you display clip 2 from that series http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hsb4Jf8f4BI as it includes an english speaking narrator and is generally more informative than part one which is currently in place. Clip one is perhaps a good teaser, with a strong soundtrack, but hardly very informative.